Representing Faith and Country: Gordon at Harvard’s Model UN

This February Gordon College students attended the Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) as representatives on a variety of committees engaging with current global issues. This marks the 10th year Gordon students have attended the event. 

Held annually in Boston, over 1,700 students from more than 45 countries participate in the HNMUN as delegates to mock UN committees. With a focus on crafting solutions to real global issues, students explore the importance of working together, being creative and effective communication—and, for Gordon students, how to engage the global landscape through the lens of faith.  

Gordon students await their turn to speak at Harvard's Model UN.

Delegates' Preparation for Model UN  

Gordon’s Model UN class prepares students to understand their assigned UN position, research the issues their committee will address and write a position paper. It also prepares students for the extensive procedures and rules of the conference. 

According to Hannah Morton ’26 (history) preparation begins even before class officially starts, since the conference takes place just one month after the beginning of the spring semester. “Over Christmas break we did a lot of research, reading guides and getting prepared for our country’s positions,” she said. “When we came back from break, we started meeting every Wednesday to practice giving speeches in our country’s positions on specific topics. We also did a mock Model UN to practice the flow of debate, especially for people who hadn’t done it before.” 

Lilah Hatheway ’28 (political science), who attended HNMUN for the first time this year, said, “Each committee had a background guide that outlined the issues to focus on. I represented Croatia in the World Intellectual Property Organization. [My co-delegate] and I read through the background guide and researched our country’s position and history [so we could thoroughly explain] Croatia’s stance and main points.” 

An Opportunity for Practical Experience 

Students from Gordon have participated in HNMUN since 2005. Dr. Chan Shin, who teaches the preparation course and is the faculty advisor for Gordon’s Model UN program, says that HNMUN strengthens students’ understanding of subjects that are often hard to grasp in the classroom. “International relations is a complex discipline; students often struggle to grasp what working in the field looks like. HNMUN provides a hands-on experience of how international diplomacy operates in practice,” he said. 

Morton has attended Model UN conferences since high school and is continually amazed at the power of stepping into the role of a delegate while being surrounded by such a diverse group of students. “We got to meet delegates from all over the world. . . and we all came together to discuss issues while representing different countries. The dynamic is fascinating because. . . you're all representing countries that are different from your own,” she said.  

The annual HNMUN event allows students to meet and develop relationships with peers from around the world, fostering a deeper understanding of the countries and cultures around them. Morton recounted how she met a delegate from Venezuela, a country she had been studying in class. “It was amazing to hear about her experience living there and how different foreign policy decisions had impacted her life. It was a really cool conversation,” she said. 

Faith in the Political World 

For both Hatheway and Morton, HNMUN was an opportunity to represent Gordon and its Christian values. Within the committees, which often got into heated discussions, Hatheway reminded herself to bring peace to the situation. She noticed that her group avoided conflict without sacrificing good discussion and formed a strong community because of that. 

"I think Simon [my co-delegate] and I did a good job approaching the experience with an open mind and patience,” she said. “It was important for us to represent Gordon and our faith, being kind and patient with others. We went into it with the mindset of showing love and respect.”  

It was also a chance for students to practice bringing faith to a global political conversation. “A lot of the work that the real UN does, and what we try to do in Model UN, is about caring for others, especially the most vulnerable,” Morton shared. “Our faith teaches us to care for the least of these, and Model UN really helps us learn about the challenges faced by people in different parts of the world and how we can address those issues.” 

Emily Jones ‘25, English language and literature